Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

Ibtihaj Muhammad to be first American to compete in Olympics in hijab; Mariel Zagunis qualifies, too

Ibtihaj Muhammad will become the first American to compete in a hijab at the Olympics after clinching her spot on the U.S. fencing team for Rio, according to U.S. Fencing and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Muhammad, along with Mariel Zagunis, the most decorated U.S. fencer ever, became the first fencers to clinch berths on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team via national team points standings. They are both sabre fencers.

Muhammad, 30, is ranked No. 7 in the world and reached the 2015 World Championships round of 16, falling to Russian Sofiya Velikaya, who went on to win the title.